MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama soccer won its third consecutive Sun Belt Conference tournament championship Sunday with a 4-0 victory over Georgia State, then learned Monday that it will host LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The home match will be the first NCAA Tournament game hosted by South Alabama and the first hosted by any Sun Belt Conference program. It is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.
Four Different Scorers in Title Game
Sophomore Rio Hardy scored the only goal of the first half, finishing a low cross from Danielle Henley.
Sophomore Chelsea Followwell doubled the lead at the 60:36 mark, putting away a loose ball in front of the goal after a corner kick. Less than three minutes later, sophomore Charde Hannah capitalized on a Georgia State defensive mistake at 63:35 to make it 3-0.
Senior Nini Rabsatt-Smith closed the scoring in the 85th minute, heading in a corner kick delivered by freshman Jemma Purfield.
“I’m obviously delighted that we managed to win,” South Alabama head coach Graham Winkworth said. “Today we put in a fantastic performance and got a fantastic result.”
Winkworth said the result meant a great deal to the players and to him, and he pointed to the variety of contributors. “We’re scoring lots of goals and they’re coming from lots of areas,” he said, calling the title-game effort “maybe one of our stronger performances of the season.”
Defense Holds Georgia State Scoreless
Winkworth credited the shutout to the work of the entire lineup. He said the forwards limited quality long balls from Georgia State’s back line, the midfield pressed effectively and the defense intercepted passes rather than relying on tackles.
“We were solid from front to back,” Winkworth said. He noted that Georgia State got behind the South Alabama defense only once, and that junior goalkeeper Sarah Hay made a save on the one-on-one chance.
Five Jaguars Named All-Tournament
South Alabama placed five players on the all-tournament team: sophomore Ashlynn Jones, senior Nini Rabsatt-Smith, sophomore Rio Hardy, sophomore Charde Hannah and junior Sarah Hay. Hannah was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
“All five of them were crucial to our success, but in all honesty, we could have picked anyone that played this weekend,” Winkworth said. He added that the honorees would be the first to credit the rest of the squad for the awards and the championship.
Historic NCAA Home Match Against LSU
The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Committee announced the bracket Monday afternoon and sent LSU to Mobile for the first round.
The appearance will be South Alabama’s third straight in the NCAA Tournament. The Jaguars enter with a 17-2-2 record and a 14-match unbeaten streak.
“This is huge,” Winkworth said. “We’ve created something very special here.” He said the team would have been excited to play on campus regardless of the opponent and asked the community to turn out Saturday.
“We know a lot of people will think they’re the big favorites coming from the SEC, however, we feel like we’ve got a good product here as well,” Winkworth said.
LSU is 13-5-4 and reached the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament. The Tigers are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. LSU leads the all-time series with South Alabama 5-4 and has won the last three meetings, most recently in 2010.
The South Alabama football team plays Thursday night, two days before the soccer match.
Ticket Information
- Adults: $7
- Seniors: $3
- Children ages 2-12: $3
- Children under 2: free
- Students: $3, with the first 300 students admitted free on a first-come, first-served basis with a valid student ID when gates open Saturday
Tickets are available by phone only at 251-461-1872 (1USA). All tickets will be held for pickup Saturday night, and none will be distributed before match day. Gates open 90 minutes before the 7 p.m. start.
All seating is general admission, and grandstand seats are first-come, first-served. Fans are encouraged to bring portable outdoor chairs.
